This invention relates to a system for providing on-location electronics troubleshooting services to consumers and businesses in a manner that improves timeliness and quality of responses to requests for assistance. This system is made possible by the widespread availability of the Internet and improvements in related software.
In the past few years, the pace of change in low voltage electronics has accelerated and is likely to continue into the future. Low voltage electronics, typified by personal computers, also includes video and stereo equipment and all manner of devices from telephones to personal digital assistants. Not only has the number of devices increased, but their complexity has increased to the point where many are no longer installable without significant assistance from retailers and manufacturers. The increase in the number and complexity of low-voltage devices has made it increasingly difficult to troubleshoot problems when they inevitably arise. Recent economic troubles have forced many low-voltage manufacturers and dealers to reduce live telephone-based customer support as well in favor or email exchanges, FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) lists or user forums. Even when support is available, it is often of marginal quality due to the low skill level of telephone support representatives and it has inherent limitations of time of day and the ability of the two parties to communicate clearly about a problem. Email exchanges and user forums are often time-consuming and require more knowledge than the user has and usually require multiple days to receive an answer, which answer has a high likelihood of being incorrect. FAQ lists can be helpful, but are usually limited to addressing only the most basic issues.
Today, beyond telephone support, the sources of assistance for consumers and small businesses are typically limited to: on-location assistance provided on an on-call basis; or technically oriented friends or family. And using either of these alternatives often means delays in getting a problem resolved in a timely manner. On-location full time technical support staff, which would theoretically be more responsive, is never an option for consumers; and most small businesses are unable to afford the cost. Additionally, telephone-based support is less and less often provided at no charge.
All the current alternatives are generally only available during business hours on business days; therefore, no help is available on nights and weekends. Consumers and small businesses are often forced to “live with a problem” for much longer than they would like or to pay a premium for on-location help on a one-time basis.
Additionally, most problems encountered are not intrinsic failures of a device, but are grounded in misunderstandings, user ignorance, and errors by users during installation or set up. This means that most consumers' and small businesses' low-voltage technical problems can be resolved quickly by a technically competent person working at the consumer's or business's location.
Furthermore, the problems faced by low-voltage devices manufacturers are common to a wide variety of other industries and service providers. Examples of other areas which face similar problems are services providers such as telephone companies, hotels, and information technology departments in large organizations and other service providers such as telephone and cable companies.
Coincident with these changes in low-voltage devices, a wide range of interactive devices have been developed to provide information to a variety of users via communications networks. These interactive devices include, for example, computers connected to various computer on-line services, interactive kiosks, interactive television systems, and a variety of other wired and wireless devices, such as personal data assistants (PDA's) and the like. In particular, the popularity of computer on-line services has grown immensely in popularity over the last decade. Computer on-line services are provided by a wide variety of different companies.
In general, most computer on-line services are accessed via the Internet. The Internet is a global network of computers. One popular part of the Internet is the World Wide Web, or the “Web.” The World Wide Web contains computers that display graphical and textual information. Computers that provide information on the World Wide Web are typically called “Websites.” A Website is defined by an Internet address that has an associated electronic page, often called a “homepage.” Generally, a homepage is an electronic document that organizes the presentation of text, graphical images, audio and video into a desired display. These Websites are operated by a wide variety of entities, which are typically called “providers”.
A user may access the Internet via a dedicated high-speed line or by using a personal computer (PC) equipped with a conventional modem or a variety of other wired and wireless devices. Special interface software, called “browser” software, is installed within the PC or other access device. When the user wishes to access the Internet by normal telephone line, an attached modem is automatically instructed to dial the telephone number associated with the local Internet host server. The user can then access information at any address accessible over the Internet. Two well-known web browsers, for example, are the Netscape Navigator browser marketed by Netscape Communications Corporation and the Internet Explorer browser marketed by Microsoft Corporation.
Information exchanged over the Internet is typically encoded in HyperText Mark-up Language (HTML) format. The HTML format is a scripting language that is used to generate the homepages for different content providers. In this setting, a content provider is an individual or company that places information (content) on the Internet so that others can access it. As is well known in the art, the HTML format is a set of conventions for marking different portions of a document so that each portion appears in a distinctive format. For example, the HTML format identifies or “tags” portions of a document to identify different categories of text (e.g., the title, header, body text, etc.). When a web browser (or suitable executable program) accesses an HTML document, the web browser (or suitable executable program) reads the embedded tags in the document so it appears formatted in the specified manner.
An HTML document can also include hyperlinks, which allow a user to move from one document to another document on the Internet. A hyperlink is an underlined or otherwise emphasized portion of text that, when selected using an input device such as a mouse, activates a software connection module that allows the user to jump between documents or pages (i.e., within the same Website or to other Websites). Hyperlinks are well known in the art, and have been sometimes referred to as anchors. The act of selecting the hyperlink is often referred to as “clicking on” the hyperlink.
The advent and subsequent increased use of the Internet and its interconnected communications systems, coupled with new wireless technologies, may provide an opportunity for the development of new and advanced methods of providing skilled, timely on-location electronics troubleshooting services at a reasonable cost to the customer.
Additionally, a variety of other industries which provide some form of on-site service and support are also faced with problems and requirements are similar to those faced by the low-voltage electronics industry.
For example, hotels often have difficulty managing requests for deliveries to guest's rooms. Frequently guests request delivery of toiletries, food, etc., be to their room. Today, the requester (person or people) must call the front desk. Typically, person the front desk must in turn request that someone else deliver the requested items. This process presents a number of problems including no consistent way to track requests and deliveries of those items, difficulty in monitoring performance and completion, the involvement of several people and no tracking of the frequency of requests by the type of request, deliveries, repairs, etc.
Another example, many companies use call centers (not always in the US) to provide customer support. At best these can be frustrating and time consuming experiences for customers because it is frequently difficult to find the right person to help resolve the problem. This leads to unhappy customers and the need to maintain large call centers with their attendant expense.
A further example, information technology departments for many companies manage and process thousands of requests for help and service. Frequently, this support effort suffers from communications methods that ensure the highest priority problems are addressed first. Additionally, while voice mail and other forms of communication permit leaving a message with a person they do not permit centralized management including prioritization and assignment of the requests. Thus, problems are not resolved on timely basis and the support staff must each deal with conflicting priorities and frequent changes in work.
A final example, high rise building managers must deal with a constant flow of incoming service requests by tenants to the building manager. The building manager must then request the services of a trade contractor to address the problem. Finally the building manager must then follow up to ensure the problem is resolved. All this is typically very disjointed requiring many phone calls and time and effort for many people which results in improper work, late completions and unhappy tenants and trades contractors.
This opportunity is also applicable to a variety of other industries which provide some form of on-site service and support because their problems and requirements are similar to those faced by the low-voltage electronics industry. Such new and advanced methods (such as the inventions provided herein by applicant) of providing on-location support solve many of the current problems outlined above.